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How to Manage Your Checking Account [5 Tips]

Today’s post is our second during Financial Literacy Month and builds on our last post about choosing the right checking account for your specific needs. Now that you have chosen and are using your checking account, let’s discuss how to properly manage it.

What does “managing your account” entail? A few things:

Making sure you stay above any minimum required balance

Avoiding overdrafts

Staying below any transaction or withdrawal limits

Being able to have a good idea of your account balances at any time

Monitoring your account activity to protect against fraud

All of these things can help you manage your money better, avoid things like overspending and can also help protect your accounts from criminals. Here are a few ways to keep an eye on your account:

Use a checkbook ledger or duplicate checks- if you still write checks, be sure you record any purchases you make with a check in the ledger that came with your checkbook or use duplicate checks. This will ensure you aren’t surprised when a check clears.

Use online or mobile banking - if you have access to an online banking or mobile banking account, you will be able to track your transaction history. Some online and mobile banking systems may also include financial management tools to help you track your spending by category. (LSB offers this!) This helps prevent overspending and helps track where your money is going.

Check your monthly statements- you should be receiving monthly account statements, either through the mail or through an electronic delivery system like eStatements. These allow you to see all purchases and deposits for your checking account for the last billing cycle.

Use a telephone banking service or text banking – telephone banking and text banking are other services most banks offer to help you monitor your balances and verify recent activity.

Call your bank and ask- if you ever have questions about your account, you are well within your rights to call and ask your bank. Your bank has full access to all activity on your account and can help put your mind at ease.

Managing your accounts is an ongoing activity, and requires just a little effort on a regular basis. At the very least, you should be examining your account balance and transactions once a week to ensure you are staying on track.

Now that we have covered choosing and managing a checking account, our next post will focus on another basic of financial management: saving money. Be sure to check our blog or stay connected with Lincoln Savings Bank on Facebook so you don’t miss that post.